Week 4 Assignment

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American Public University *

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400

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Marketing

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Feb 20, 2024

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1 Instructions Review Questions: Answer the following questions in detail. 1. Compare and contrast the semantic differential, Stapel scale, and Likert scale. Under what conditions would a researcher use each one? 2. Develop a Likert scale to evaluate the parks and recreation department in your city. 3. Assume that you are developing a questionnaire for a new sandwich for McDonald's. Use this situation to outline the procedure for designing a questionnaire. 4. What are some situations in which a census would be better than a sample? Why are samples usually taken rather than censuses? Deliverable length 3-5 body page in APA format with the incorporation and citation of reference material.

2 Scaling Techniques in Marketing Research Student Name MKTG400 Dr. Thomas Schaefer October 29 th , 2023

3 Scaling Techniques in Marketing Research In marketing, researchers have many options to conduct interviews, surveys, or questionnaires to gain insight on consumers thoughts and feelings about a product or service. There are many methods to collect data using market research to identify information about the business, its products, industry, the market, competitors, and marketing tools. Utilizing the data and information collected throughout the research will improve marketing decisions, identify opportunities or problems, and assist managers in making the best possible decisions. In this paper I will discuss three ways to conduct survey research in marketing: Semantic Differential, Stapel scale, and Likert scales. Market research uses scales to get information about a specific topic or objective, which can have different uses based on the specific objectives. Scaling techniques applied to marketing research can provide respondents with the opportunity to choose from a range of categories where they are able to express their opinions. Scaling techniques are used to understand and compare attitudes and behavior of the respondents. A semantic differential scale is a survey or questionnaire rating scale that will ask respondents to rate a product, company, brand, or object within the frames of the rating options (Mishra, 2008, pp.129). These scales will have adjectives to express emotions, with opposite adjectives at each end of the scale. The options provided are on two polar opposite objectives, with a neutral point in the middle. If the respondent does not feel the objectives do not define or express their emotions, they have flexibility for unforced responses with a neutral option in the middle. The midpoint response captures neutrality toward the level of agreement with a particular response rather than uncertainty of the respondent (Themistocleous et al., 2019, pp. 2). For example, the scale could have highly likely-highly unlikely with transitional options in between them. These scales are a reliable way to get

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4 information about people’s emotions and attitudes towards the topic of interest for the researcher. These scales are typically easy to understand, and the options are represented textually. Mindak (1986, pp.1) states that the Semantic Differential Scale is a quick and efficient means of getting information in readily quantifiable form and for large samples in the direction and intensity of opinions and attitudes towards a concept. This scale would be good to use if the researcher wanted to learn about employee satisfaction, if a customer liked or disliked the service, or even just if consumers like a product. The next scaling technique is the Stapel Scale. This is a modification of the Semantic Differential scale, but it differs in that it represents a single adjective or is unipolar. This is a rating scale that is close ended with a single adjective, that is comprised of an even number of response options without a neutral point (Mishra, 2008, pp. 130). The Staple scale is used to gather respondents’ thoughts and insights about a particular subject or event, and measures how much an individual rejects or accepts the object. The main difference between the Stapel Scale and the Semantic Differential Scale is that the Stapel Scale has only one adjective in between a positive and negative category rather than having two opposite adjectives like the Semantic Differential. The respondents choose a numerical value that best defines the validity of the adjective for the topic of interest, which indicates the relevance of each characteristic to an object in the question. Since there is an even number of responses, this survey has forced responses due to the lack of a neutral point. This scale could be used to rate supervisors or employees or to gauge customer satisfaction, which is a common use for this scale. The last scaling technique is the Likert Scale, which is used to measure opinions, attitudes, or behaviors. The Likert Scale consists of a statement or question, that is followed by a series of 5-7 response options. One side of the scale will have positive options, and the other side

5 of the scale will have negative options, with a neutral option in the middle. Each option is given a score from 1-5 or 1-7, and the respondent chooses the best number from the scale to represent a level of agreement/disagreement, frequency, or even satisfaction. This scale can be used to understand more information on a customer’s feelings rather than providing just a simple yes or no question. These scales can result in response bias based on respondents not wanting to select the more extreme options to not seem over the top, or to answer more reserved with their responses. The Likert Scale is different from the Semantic Differential scale in that the Likert Scale utilizes close-ended questions, while the Semantic Differential scale utilizes open-ended questions with freedom for respondents to express their emotions about the topic of interest. The Likert Scale is different from the Stapel Scale in that it rates the extent the respondents agree or disagree with the topic of interest, while the Stapel Scale measures how much the respondents accept or reject the topic of interest. Likert Scale of Parks and Recreation Department Q1. I go to the parks often. a) Strongly Agree b) Agree c) Neither agree nor disagree d) Disagree e) Strongly Disagree Q2. The park is sanitary and there is never litter or debris left on the ground. a) Strongly Agree b) Agree c) Neither agree nor disagree d) Disagree e) Strongly Disagree Q3. I have never felt unsafe at the parks or trails, to include all sports facilities and buildings. a) Strongly Agree b) Agree c) Neither agree nor disagree d) Disagree e) Strongly Disagree Q4. I have good memories and positive experiences associated with the parks.

6 a) Strongly Agree b) Agree c) Neither agree nor disagree d) Disagree e) Strongly Disagree Q5. Other guests in the parks are friendly and non-threatening. a) Strongly Agree b) Agree c) Neither agree nor disagree d) Disagree e) Strongly Disagree Questionnaire for a New McDonald’s Sandwich A questionnaire is used as a way to gather data and information in marketing research and should be designed well based on the intent of the study. According to Stevens et al. (2008, pp. 134) a good questionnaire should accomplish the following goals: express the study objectives in question form, measure the attitude, behavior, intention, attributes, and other characteristics of the respondent, create harmony and rapport with the respondent, and provide the right amount of information, no more or less. There are 9 steps to creating a questionnaire (Stevens et al., 2008, pp.140). 1. Determine the specific information needed to answer the research questions. 2. Identify the sources of the required information. 3. Choose the method of administration that suits the information required and the sources of information. 4. Determine the types of questions to be used and form of response. 5. Develop the specific questions to be asked. 6. Determine the sequence of questions and length of the questionnaire. 7. Predetermine coding. 8. Pretest the questionnaire.

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7 9. Review and revise the questionnaire. A questionnaire for a new sandwich at McDonalds would begin with a question to determine the target consumers. For example, how often do you eat fast food? With responses such as A. Daily, B. Weekly, C. Monthly, D. Never. Once the sample of consumers has been identified, the questions would ask what kind of meat consumers like, ingredients they prefer in a sandwich or burger, and if they would want a healthier option over their typical menu items. Census versus Sample A census is the attempt to gather information and data on every individual in a population, while a sample is a part of the population that is actually examined in order to represent the whole (Stevens, et al., 181). The census method would be preferred to show standards or to get more accurate data about the population as a whole. For example, if a government wants to learn characteristics of their population, they conduct a census. Censuses are usually expensive, and hard to get an entire population which may produce inaccurate results. A sample survey is only on a part of the population that can be used to gather information on opinions, behaviors, and preferences. Surveys can be done in a short time frame, are much less expensive than a census, and are faster than a census. Surveys have a good chance of collecting accurate data which is why many marketers use this technique. Conclusion Scale techniques are used to gather data and information about consumers attitudes and behaviors and have become widely used in marketing research. Scaling techniques applied to marketing research can provide respondents with the opportunity to choose from a range of categories where they are able to express their opinions. Marketing research can be conducted using surveys, questionnaires, and even censuses based on the objective of the research.

8 References Mindak, W. A. (1961). Fitting the Semantic Differential to the Marketing Problem. Journal of Marketing, Vol. 25(4), 28-33. https://doi.org/10.2307/1248988 Mishra, M. N. (2008). Modern marketing research (Rev. ed.). Himalaya Pub. House. Stevens, R. E., Wrenn, B., Sherwood, P. K., & Ruddick, M. E. (2008). The marketing research guide (2nd ed.). Routledge. Themistocleous, C., Pagiaslis, A., Smith, A., & Wagner, C. (2019). A comparison of scale attributes between interval-valued and semantic differential scales. International Journal of Market Research, 61(4), 394-407. https://doi.org/10.1177/1470785319831227

Week 4 Assignment

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